Paper Dolls and Plastic Crowns
by Yugao
Summary: [I'm sorry I can't be your Jin.] Hwoarang takes Xiao to the amusement park, but why isn't she happy? HwoaXiao.


**_Paper Dolls and Plastic Crowns_**

_**Yugao**_

**_Summary: _**Hwoarang brings Xiaoyu to the theme park and expects her to be elated. Why isn't she, anyway? Looks like it's up to Hwoarang to cheer her up.

**_Author's Note: _**The reason for this HwoaXiao, maybe, is my sudden obsession with romantic themes at an amusement park, and the realization that my previous HX (you remember Brilliant Moon) portrayed them both too mature. I think that the very essence of the pairing is their love of fun, and their youthfulness. Okay, I'll stop babbling and let you continue on. I hope you enjoy _Paper Dolls and Plastic Crowns. _I love the ending of this one, I laughed as I thought it up.

**_Disclaimer: _**If I owned Tekken… I'd be filthy stinking rich! But I'm not filthy, I don't stink, and I'm not rich, so that must mean I don't own it.

* * *

_"I'm sorry I can't be your Jin."

* * *

_

Hwoarang made an effort to keep smiling no matter what.

He was sorry for sounding as if enjoying himself was so difficult, but at the moment it was. He was currently surrounded by several shades of pink, in balloons, teddy bears, girls' dresses, cotton candy, ride tickets, and so much more. Teddy bears and other stuffed animals peeked out at him from their shelves with their awful beady little eyes. Even the rides, which usually didn't bother him so much, were smothered with cartoon characters and backed up by cheery music.

He almost suffocated from the cuteness.

"Hwoarang, is something wrong?" Xiaoyu asked from beside him. He looked at her, and her big, almond-shaped eyes wore concern. He suppressed a laugh. The way she fit in inside the theme park was amazing.

He shook his head. "Nah, nothing's wrong, Xiao."

"Oh. That's good then," she said in the brightest, cheeriest voice she could muster, "We just got here after all, I wouldn't want anything to be wrong."

He nodded, but saw this as a chance to score. "Don't worry, Xiao! As long as I'm here, nothing will go wrong!"

"Yeah. Sure," she said dejectedly, looking away.

He wondered if it was something he'd said, but usually whenever he boasted like that she would take it lightly, playing along or just giggling at his super-sized ego.

But he wasn't one to give up without a fight.

"Okay then, Xiao, what ride should we go on first? I'm up for anything! How about… the Ferris wheel?" he said with a grin.

She shook her head no.

He groaned. "The merry-go-round?" he realized suddenly how dopey he had made it sound, and quickly added, "If that's what you want, then…"

She shook her head no.

"The… roller coaster? You want the roller coaster, right?" he asked, almost frantic. He hated the way roller coasters tied his stomach and intestines into a big, gooey knot, but he wasn't about to say so. Especially when Xiao seemed to be feeling so down.

Again, she shook her head. "Nah…" she said absently.

Okay, this was really getting on his nerves.

Why was he here in the first place? She'd wanted to come for weeks and weeks, pestering Kazama to find time to bring her someplace like this ever since the tournament started and she "found" him again. Hwoarang was willing to bet, since that time, that there was no way in hell that wild horses could have dragged Kazama to a theme park, even if it was for Xiao.

So what did he do?

Nice guy that he was, he obliged her by buying tickets to the most popular (and, as his relatively empty wallet showed, the most expensive) amusement park in all of Japan. And here they were, not even one hour into it, and she was showing no attempt to enjoy herself at all.

Wait. Rewind.

She'd been pestering Kazama.

_Kazama._

Was that it?

She wanted Jinny-poo around. That was why she was sulking around him, because in all the months that she'd been annoying the hell out of Jin she hadn't drawn a response. And she did that? After he, Hwoarang, brought her here?

He was mad.

Or by all rights, he should have been. But, strangely enough, he wasn't. In fact, he felt rather… disappointed.

Absently she walked towards the gift shop, and he followed. The thought that Xiao would have preferred having Jin by her side broke his heart. In the three years he had been competing with her in the Iron Fist Tournaments, he had grown close to her and loved her like a brother would… or perhaps more than a brother would. Every time he returned to Japan it was to see her infectious smile, to hear her bright, cheery laughter…

They entered the souvenir store, and he watched as Xiaoyu idly poked at the things on the shelves. The expression in her eyes – sad, lonely, and almost disinterested – was so unlike her that it crushed him. Him, Hwoarang, _the _Blood Talon, crushed by a little girl's feelings.

It was so ironic it almost made him laugh.

_I'm sorry I can't be your Jin._

"Xiao," he said quietly. He watched as she looked up at him, and afforded a small, forced smile. "Listen, I'm really sorry if you're not feeling that good today. But… I tried really hard to bring you here, because I thought it would make you happy. And… I guess I like seeing you happy, because it sort of makes me happy, too."

He didn't sound like himself and he hated it.

It worked, though, because Xiaoyu brightened. "Thanks, Hwoa, that's… that's really sweet."

He picked up a plastic crown off one of the shelves. It was the one painted gold, with pink plastic baubles accenting it. Playfully, he put it on her head. "At least, try to have fun today, okay? For me?"

She laughed, all the sadness gone from her pretty face. She touched the crown shyly with her fingers. "Sure. You said the roller coaster, right?"

He felt his insides twist at the thought, but he grinned. "Sure! It sounds… great."

She took his hand in hers, and it was all the encouragement he needed, because he strode out into the sun. With her by his side, he felt like he could take over the world!

"Um… Hwoa?" she said suddenly, cutting off his feeling of triumph. "You forgot to pay for the crown."

**_Author's Note: _**I got the idea for the ending reading another fic, wherein this guy saw a bracelet he thought was pretty for his girl, but then it just said "he brought it to her" and I wondered… "Hey, what, didn't he pay for it?" Well… okay, I know it was pretty random, and I'm sorry for that but I hope you would still review.


End file.
